When the girls were growing up, I used to think that glitter was invented by someone who hated moms. Gifts of glitter to Grace and Caroline were regifted. I refused to buy cards with glitter on them. I wouldn’t buy glittery crafts.

Nevertheless and despite all of these precautions, glitter still happened and made its way into our home.

Literally and metaphorically.

After Grace's cancer diagnosis, our family’s life became an art project full of glitter. And that is because the loss and grief surrounding cancer stand out as one of the messiest strokes of life, like glitter scattered across the kitchen counter and floor.

Like glitter, the beautiful and shiny memories of people we love and lose stick to us, as does their absence. Thankfully, however, when grief and loss are accompanied by a shimmer of hope and a reminder that put under the right light, they are accompanied by a shimmer of hope and a reminder of the memories that never fade. Like a piece of glitter.

I don’t love the experience of grief, but I now appreciate the lesson that glitter was trying to teach me. And it is this: glitter and grief stick to everything - they can both be messy, but they can also both be beautiful.

My role with this Swim Across America open water event has evolved. In 2017, I stood along the shore and watched Grace swim. In 2018 and 2019, I swam with Dr. Karen Wasilewski (Grace's oncologist) and others in memory of Grace. In 2021, this event was the last and 14th stop of The Amazing Grace Swim Across America Tour. Last year, I served as a volunteer. 

And this year? Well this year, I am honored to serve as one of the Co-Event Directors. With your generosity, we can provide hope to other patients and families as we swim and raise money to find better treatments and a cure.

Just like glitter, cancer can make a mess. Let's clean it up together at Lake Lanier!